Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - all you need to know

The first details and trailers have been revealed for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, but if you weren't able to watch the launch event then read on for highlights.

The series has been going for nearly 10 years, and according to Mark Lamia at Treyarch, the new Black Ops 4 will be the "most replayable game in our history". He said that Treyarch has never shied away from introducing something new, and wanted to give players more ways to have fun with their friends.

Dan Bunting and David Vonderhaar then took a look at the multiplayer, which they described as "their most ambitious yet", and revealed that the game will be released on 12th October 2018. The multiplayer has been designed to be fast and fluid, allowing you to keep your gun up so that you can still shoot while doing other things. They also revealed that Black Ops 4 has made more improvements to weapons than all previous games in the series combined. There are also changes to the healing mechanic (it's no longer automatic) and improvements to situational awareness (a new tool called 'fog of war' shows a radius around the player, creating tactical opportunities).

Jason Blundell and Craig Houston then took to the stage to give details about the zombie experiences. At the time of launch, there will be not one, but three new experiences to play. According to the team, they went back to the drawing board and started afresh - players will be able to discover new storylines, new worlds, and new characters.

The first zombie experience is called 'IX', which has a Roman vibe with hints of ancient Egypt. You play as a gladiator...

According to Blundell and Houston, the game has been designed so that you can play it how you want to play it, with customisable tools and social systems. There are also custom mutations (eg zombie speed, health etc), and a system called Black Ops Authenticity Stamps System so that players can take part in custom competitions. The game also includes bot support (so that players can team up with AI), and will also reintroduce different difficulty levels.

The next day one zombie experience is called 'Voyage of Despair', which takes place aboard the Titanic. It sees the team working together to retrieve an ancient artifact (which, naturally, is all that stands between humanity and the forces of evil), but something goes wrong and suddenly the ship is full of zombies...

The third zombie experience is also the one we know the least about. It features four lost souls trapped in eternal purgatory, and will be called 'Blood of the Dead'.

Mark Lamia revealed that Black Ops 4 will be the first Call of Duty title released exclusively on Blizzard's Battle.net platform. They have created a custom built version of the game designed for the PC, which features a redesigned UI, uncapped framerate, and "great scaleability options".

Last but not least, Black Ops 4 will also feature a Battle Royale style, last-man-standing game. It is set in a massive world which is 1500 times bigger than Nuketown. It will feature favourite characters and equipment from all the games, including the zombies cast, and players will have access to land, sea, and air vehicles.

The game is available for pre-order, which will also ensure access to a private beta.

Edit: In a recent interview with Polygon, Dan Bunting at Treyarch explained why there is no campaign mode in Black Ops 4:

“When we set out to make this game, we never started with the idea that we would make a traditional campaign,” Bunting told Polygon in an interview today. “That was just not part of our plan. We started from a place that we were gonna make a game that across the board can be playable with friends. That’s been our mission from day one.

“Of course, through the course of development, as always happens with every game, we’re to challenge our conventions … trying different things. Sometimes those things are bold and crazy and innovative sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t work out. As development goes on though, you’re always pushing the best ideas forward and that’s what was reflected today.”